Dravidian Buddhism

Abstract

Part One of this article provides a brief history of what is known of the practice and spread of Buddhism among Dravidian speaking peoples during the lifetime of the Buddha and in the centuries after his passing. It further provides an overview of the impact of the Dravidian language on the vocabulary and structure of Old and Middle Indic. Part Two examines the early Buddhist Patimokkha transmission, which was based on the practice of earlier religious groups, and discusses approximately fifty non-IA technical terms. Their retention in Pali, it argues, represents the adoption of certain cultural and religious practices from indigenous peoples of South Asia and may represent a translation or adaptation, in part, of an earlier Dravidian language Patimokkha.